What does admit mean?
To admit is to accept the truth of something, often reluctantly and sometimes against one's own earlier claims. It is most commonly used for confessions — admitting a mistake, a fault, or an uncomfortable fact — and in this sense it carries a connotation of honesty won through difficulty: we rarely admit what is easy to say. A second major sense concerns access: schools admit students, hospitals admit patients, and venues admit ticket-holders, making admission both a figurative and literal gateway. The word can also appear in formal constructions such as "admit of," meaning to allow or leave room for, as when evidence admits of only one interpretation. Derived from the Latin admittere, formed from ad- ('toward') and mittere ('to send'), admit has been part of English since the late Middle Ages. Its relatives include mission, missile, and message, all descendants of the same prolific Latin verb. Few words so neatly capture the moment when resistance gives way to truth.
verbTo confess to or acknowledge something, especially something one might prefer to conceal; also, to allow someone entry into a place or organization.
- To acknowledge or confess that something is true, often reluctantly or after denial
- To allow someone to enter a place, institution, or organization
- To permit or make possible (as in 'the evidence admits of only one interpretation')
"She finally admitted that she had made a mistake."
"He admitted he had forgotten her birthday."
"The university admits about two thousand students each year."
Every time you admit something, you're literally 'sending it toward' the truth — the same Latin verb that gives us 'mission' and 'missile.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of admit
Admit comes from the Latin admittere, a compound of ad- ('to, toward') and mittere ('to send, let go'), originally meaning to allow entrance or give access. It entered English via Old French admettre in the late medieval period, initially carrying the sense of permitting entry before extending to the acknowledgment of truths. It shares its root with a large family of English words derived from mittere, including mission, missile, message, and commit.
Related word forms
How admit is actually used
In the sense of confession, "admit" often carries a tone of reluctance — people admit things under pressure. In British English, "admit to doing something" is common; American English frequently uses "admit (that)" with a clause. The passive "be admitted to hospital" is standard in British English, where American English typically says "be hospitalized."
Easily confused with admit
"Omit" means to leave something out, while "admit" means to acknowledge it or let it in — they share the Latin root mittere but point in opposite directions.